


Cherry Juice

by canadino



Series: ABO Verse - Altered Rules [3]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-20 19:12:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10669011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canadino/pseuds/canadino
Summary: It's tart and anti-inflammatory!





	Cherry Juice

On Japan’s most popular evening-slot drama Dissent, lauded for its progressive portrayal of an Omega succeeding in an Alpha-centric society while supporting her fellow Omegas, the protagonist is always marked in the midst of a steamy tryst with the various Alpha partners in her life. She has taken ownership of her own sexuality and never allows her Heats to dictate how she lives her public and private life. Granted, it fits better into a thrilling plotline, her current Beta beau discovering and accusing her of infidelity. But Midorima does not know of any Omegas who will wait until intercourse to be marked if they wish to be during their Heats; it’s in their best interests to be marked early to keep their pheromones in check and reduce the need for inhibitors. When Akashi summons him, he comes and Akashi is waiting for him in the kitchen, early symptoms manifesting itself into vaguely trembling fingers and delayed response. He wears a loose shirt that Midorima catches the collar of, pulling it down carefully. Akashi bows his head and Midorima is met with a smooth expanse of skin, unblemished as though Midorima has never touched it before. It seems a waste to ruin it. 

When Midorima bites and breaks through the skin, drawing blood, the smell of camellias makes his pulse electrify, but the thing that really arouses him is the sound of Akashi sighing, like he’s held his breath for this moment for so long. It’s a sensual release of pressure, the scent marking of an Alpha helping to recalibrate his internal chemical makeup. Akashi Seijuro is his boss, the next in command in the powerful company his family runs, but right now, Midorima is audience to a splendid view of his back and a trust that Midorima will not take advantage of him during such a vulnerable state. Sometimes they’ll go back to what they were doing before, but more often than not, they’ll fuck. Midorima thinks this is the direction they’re heading when he finishes as Akashi turns around and kisses him. He feels the cold press of the refrigerator door through the back of his shirt as Akashi pushes him back, and his hand finds itself flat against the small of Akashi’s back and he feels heat. 

“I can’t,” Midorima gasps out when Akashi finally allows him to breathe. “I - have some reports to finish up. They’re - they’re urgent, and I need to finish them before the weekend.”

“Do them after,” Akashi commands, his fingers still tucked in the space under the fold of Midorima’s collar. 

“No. I. Can’t.” He doesn’t mean to make it come out staccato but even he feels the heady weight of Akashi’s scent though he fights valiantly against his instincts. A stronger sense of duty would not allow himself to take the charity of Akashi extending the deadline just for the sake of a fuck. It wouldn’t be right - and he really does need to do them and no one else will. “Sorry, I - it’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just-”

Akashi disengages immediately, a thin layer of hypothetical frost covering his features. “I understand. You’d best be going back, then.” 

Like all risky moves, including and especially denying Akashi Seijuro what he wants, Midorima quickly regroups and tries to do damage control. “Perhaps...perhaps tomorrow - of course, I want to see you, and-”

“You won’t be finished by the end of normal business hours tomorrow,” Akashi says. “Considering that I still haven’t received a completed report from one of the audit teams in your division, I’m sure you’ll be working deep into tomorrow night. Not that I wish that fate on you.” His gaze at Midorima is unreadable, although he’s gotten so frosty. “Nonetheless, I wish you luck. You know where to find me.” 

Akashi’s door closes behind him with such finality that Midorima feels that he’s been kicked out, although he had walked himself out of his own accord. As always, the hallway is empty; unlike his apartment complex, where he might catch a glimpse of his neighbor or someone from another floor in the lobby, he never sees any other inhabitant of the building. Akashi doesn’t live at the main house with his brother and father; publically, it’s because one of the important members of the family has to be closer to the office, but Midorima knows it’s really because the Akashi estate is frequently the target of lowbrow media reporters and competitors’ moles, and Akashi’s status as an Omega is a state secret. Midorima eyes one of the security cameras overhead, subtly hidden but very much there, and quickly beats a retreat to the elevators. 

 

 

As Akashi predicted, Midorima’s final report for the month doesn’t appear to be anywhere near complete by the time four-o'clock rolls around. Although he’s got an office, Midorima has set up post in one of the conference rooms because it’s closer to the middle of the floor and is easier for his staff to reach him from any corner of the office. When he looks up, he can see past the various bodies hunched over working on the deadline to the conference room on the other side, where Akashi is holding a meeting with a client. Akashi smiles so easily and so practiced, as if he isn’t taking inhibitors and carefully monitoring his scent marks. When one is as socially important as Akashi, it is assumed he is an Alpha. 

Midorima turns when he hears a knock on the doorframe to the conference room and carefully avoids flinching when he sees it’s Akashi Masaomi, the man at the top of the ladder. Masaomi is smiling, just as polished as his sons can do. “Sir,” Midorima greets, the scent of another Alpha automatically raising his guard. 

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Masaomi says, although Midorima doubts he really cares either way. “You’re in the midst of a deadline, are you not? Then I won’t bother you.” 

Masaomi knows this; he has his sons to be his eyes and ears and he’s got so many members of upper-management at his call, so he knows Midorima’s division is busy. So he must be here to declare something. Midorima waits patiently, not breaking eye contact. “As I mentioned before,” Masaomi says shortly. “I have decided on a few routes of action, considering the circumstances. I wish to speak further with you, as you and your division work closest to my eldest son and the impact will not be light-”

“Father.” Out of the corner of his eye, Midorima notices the conference room across the way is now empty. He has been so fixated on Masaomi that he does not notice Akashi approach. “As much as I admire your guidance, I have to ask you to please wait until next week to speak with Midorima; as you know, he has an urgent deadline…” Akashi spares Midorima a single, momentary glance. “If there’s anything that can’t wait, you may discuss it with me.”

“It isn’t particularly urgent,” Masaomi says airily, shrugging so casual it would make even a regular office grunt suspicious; Masaomi is the ruler of everything within the building, so the offhand devil-may-care gesture is very unlike him. “We will speak at length, Midorima,” he says, tipping his head to Midorima before leaving. Akashi shoots him a look and he returns to looking at his computer until Akashi leaves without another word. 

“Whew, that was heavy!” Takao laughs, coming in a few seconds after Midorima resumes work. “Man, I wanted to come in ages ago but...you know, I’m not going to interrupt when the pack holds a meeting.” He has a flash drive in his hand. “So the audit finally came in! I took a look and it looks thorough enough.”

Midorima doubts it and he says as much; his department’s audits are pretty good but they’re not to the way he likes or expects them so he does some legwork of his own. Takao tends to say he’s just being picky. “They’re never going to do them as how you like,” Takao complains. “This is why you’re going to die prematurely, because you end up doing more work than you need to.” Midorima is about to retort that he doesn’t work all the time when Takao continues. “So that’s why I decided that even though it was going to delay it a bit - I added a page that summarizes everything and compiles all the numbers together so you can refer to them easier. I went through your older reports on the server so I could get it into the format you’re used to seeing.”

The look Midorima gives him, which is intended to be scathing and reprehensive, only makes Takao laugh. “Just look at it yourself and tell me if I deserve a raise or what.” But a cursory glance at Takao’s file proves he’s really done his research; most people don’t look at past reports, but Takao clearly has done so in order to put it into a way Midorima does it himself. Habits die hard, so Midorima will still go back and make sure everything is right, but Takao has made the process just a little easier.

“Thank you,” Midorima says. “I’ll put in a good word for you during your annual review.”

Takao makes a strangled sound that makes a couple people directly outside the conference room look up. “What!” Takao gargles. “It was a joke - not that I don’t want a raise, because I totally do - but…! Wow! Maybe you really aren’t working yourself to death if you’ve got yourself a partner that’s mellowed you out!”

“I wasn’t that uptight to begin with,” Midorima sniffed.

“You’re not denying it!” Takao points a triumphant finger at him. “Man, it really makes you wonder. What kind of saucy minx would the boss be all over?”

The idea of ‘saucy minx’ to refer to Akashi Seijuro is, quite frankly, hilarious. Midorima laughs. Takao blanches. “I’ll get back to work and make sure you can finish it today,” he says. “You don’t need to jump off the deep end like that!” 

It isn’t entirely because of Takao’s help, but Midorima does finish the report a little after seven. He’s one of the few people still in the office and after he sends it, he takes off his glasses and feels his muscles still tense in his shoulders. When he finally puts his glasses back on, Akashi is walking past the conference room with his coat on. Midorima opens his mouth but the call dies in his throat when he remembers when Masaomi called him into his office. Akashi turns just in time to see Midorima close his mouth and gives him a Look but doesn’t stop walking. 

He should just tell Akashi, Midorima thinks as he’s making his way to the trains. He should tell Akashi how his father knows about their relationship and is going in a roundabout way to dissolve it. Midorima is summoned to Masaomi’s office late on Monday and is told about how he is a strong member of the company, one of the biggest cornerstones and how fortunate the company is to have him, but all he can remember is the look Masaomi gives him when he comments how close Midorima is to his son and how Midorima must know Akashi quite intimately and would therefore be the best choice to help him set up a miai. Midorima is smart, he knows that the miai is another way of saying, Akashi Seijuro isn’t promised to you so give it up. “As you know, my other son is...not quite the marrying type, so a partnership there might not be the most advantageous. But Seijuro - it will be a good opportunity if he can find an Alpha that suits him and the future of this corporation.” 

What Midorima can gather is that he is supposed to find Alphas of good stock to recommend to Masaomi, having worked with many clients and fostered good working relationships so many people. He needs an Alpha who won’t turn around and reveal that Akashi is an Omega, which will surely be revealed to the marriage candidate eventually. While Akashi has never publicly declared himself an Alpha, skirting the subject and relying on assumptions, his nature as an Omega will surely complicate some matters. He wishes Masaomi would just bluntly damn him for marking Akashi; this guise of helping out with Family Issues just makes Midorima feel even more guilty. 

Guilt doesn’t feel like the right word, Midorima muses climbing the stairs back to street level. It isn’t that he feels ashamed or regretful at having started a relationship with Akashi; of course, it isn’t anything he would brag or write home about - given the circumstances, it really does look extremely dodgy having an affair with his superior of all people. But Akashi treats him no differently when they’re in the office and has no interest in doing so. At the same time, Midorima stands to have everything to lose if he ever even considered the notion of using the arrangement for nefarious purposes; the Akashi family holds incredible sway and he would just be signing his personal death warrant. Sometimes he feels ethically compromised, but his heart is in the right place and that comforts him. 

A woman is sitting in the lobby when he finally returns to his building and she stands when he comes in. Midorima stands rooted on the spot as she approaches. He isn’t caught completely off guard but he is surprised. “Don’t look like you’ve seen a ghost, brother,” Midorima Hotari says, bringing her hands up to toss her pin-straight hair behind her shoulders so it wouldn’t fall in her face. The glitter of gold earrings flashes. “I may not have come to visit recently, but it isn’t like we’re on terrible terms.”

“I just wasn’t expecting you,” Midorima says honestly. “You should have called; are you planning on staying?”

“I sure am! It’s getting late; I hate driving when it’s dark. You have a spare bedroom, remember?”

He hadn’t forgotten, and it isn’t that he dislikes his sister. On the contrary, he likes her very much and he had helped take care of her when they were younger. She had really grown into herself in college, exchanging chunky sweaters and braces for sleek cashmere and coats with fur collars. She had followed their father into the fashion industry and looks the part. Their mother approves; as a horticulturist, she would always have dirt under her fingernails and appreciates when she is taken out for manicures. The problem is, since Hotari lives near their parents, they tend to send her as a messenger when they want to discuss issues of major importance that they didn’t want to speak over the phone about. 

“So to what do I owe the pleasure?” Midorima asks in the elevator. 

Hotari taps her mauve-polished fingernails against her clutch. “Mama wants you to get married.”

This is the first time he’s hearing of this, but he isn’t surprised. Men of his age usually start getting snatched up. “She says you work so hard and so long and you never talk about your friends or your romantic interests when you visit or call home, so she’s worried.”

“And she couldn’t have told me yourself?”

“Well, she wanted me to check up on you too.” Hotari shrugs, following him down the hallway. “You know how it is. We’ve been away from home for so long, she looks at our photo albums one too many times and now she wants to have grandchildren running around. I haven’t told her that I broke up with Hitoshi a few weeks ago so she probably thinks he’s about to put a ring on it.” 

“Too bad; I thought he was nice.” 

“I don’t think he really ever got over feeling insecure about dating an Alpha. I mentioned that Father was considering opening a store in Beijing and he started acting all nervous and possessive.” Her tone is casual, but he can tell by how she plays with her upper lip that it’s still a sore spot. “He may have been a Beta but I wish he’d be more confident in himself. It wasn’t a healthy dynamic to maintain.” 

Midorima thinks about how Takao doesn’t care and lets Hotari in. She nudges her heels off and strides into the apartment as he is taking his shoes off. “It doesn’t look like you have a partner,” she declares after a careful examination of his living space. 

He is a terrible liar, which makes him a trustworthy businessman, so he doubts if he says he is spoken for that his sister won’t continue to pry so she’ll have something to report home and he knows he’ll crack, and easily. Hotari would definitely have opinions on him dating his boss, in her industry rife with manipulation of connections and networks. Anyway, with things being how they are, he doubts he and Akashi will be together for much longer, regrettably. “I live alone,” he says instead, adopting her blase attitude. 

They order takeout because neither of them can really cook. “You really should get a partner,” Hotari tells him seriously. “You’re in the prime of your life, brother. You need someone to share it with.”

“There’s nothing wrong with how I’m living right now.” 

Hotari has helped herself to a glass of white wine. “I suppose,” she allows. 

He is in the middle of filling the dishwasher when she confronts him. Her hair is up, wrapped, and her makeup is off and she is holding a plastic piece of packaging with an oblong shape. “This is the wrapper of an inhibitor,” she says.

Midorima almost drops the cup in his hand, but he reminds himself that there are other Omegas that aren’t Akashi Seijuro. “Is it?” he says.

She stares at him. “It doesn’t match the Alpha inhibitors in your medicine cabinet. Did you have an Omega here?”

He is a terrible liar. “I...yes, I did.” He dreads her asking and prodding more about it, but instead she just smirks. 

“If you have a partner, you really could just have said so. It would have placated Mom for now, although you’d probably have to bring them to the house eventually.” Mercifully, she drops the subject and the pill wrapper in the trash can and returns to the bathroom. He finds her watching Dissent after he is finished in the bathroom, her knees tucked to her chest as the Omega Hanako shakes off Alpha love interest Kishimoto, firing back that she knows he is the one who helped implement policies in his company that limited the number of Omega employees. “He’s not even that good looking,” Hotari sighs when Midorima sits down next to her. 

“I didn’t know you followed this show. It seems a little...beyond your strike zone.”

Hotari snorts. “It’s a little contrived at times, but it’s not that bad. I watch other things besides beautifully shot and designed shows, you know!” She begins to watch him as Hanako strides away, the camera following her anguish. “What’s it like, dating an Omega? I actually haven’t tried it. Modeling isn’t the safest profession for an Omega, and besides, I’d never date one of my models…” Midorima feels a moment of guilt. 

“It’s-” They’re straying into hazardous waters. “-not what I expected.” 

“Do they work with you? I wouldn’t think that company of yours would employ an Omega at your level though...did you go out? Did you actually go and meet them in a random place around town?” She punches her brother in the arm. “City life has changed you!”

He doesn’t lead the conversation back, so she does. “Isn’t it hard? Don’t you worry that they go into heat when you’re not around? What if they sleep with another Alpha? What if they get pregnant?”

“They’re very careful about taking inhibitors. And them being an Omega doesn’t make them any less faithful than anyone else in a relationship.” 

She bites her lip. “That’s not what I meant,” she insists, although it’s enough to make her back off. “Well...I still want to meet them. Can I?”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea.” She’s about to open her mouth to insist she won’t be aiming for them, but Midorima interrupts. “I don’t think we’ll be - together for much longer. I think they’re planned to be married off.”

Hotari is quickly putting facts together, he can see. With his phrasing, she can know that the Omega is of considerable social status, being ‘married off’ over any other situation; the social status is higher than Midorima, since a regular Omega would have been happy settling for someone in his position. That limits the pool of possible Omegas, as there are very few prominent Omegas. He can tell she is itching to ask if it’s the up-and-coming pop singer or someone in a popular drama. Instead, she says, “Oh, I’m so sorry, brother.”

Midorima turns off the television. “It is what it is. We should go to bed.”

 

 

Akashi pays him a visit in the morning, knocking so politely that Midorima opens the door without checking and almost smashes the door back in Akashi’s face, holding it open just enough to speak through. He had woken up at his usual time, drowsy and starting to brew some coffee since Hotari would undoubtedly ask him to show her around Tokyo and inspect the fashion district. Now he is definitely awake. “You can’t be here,” he whispers.

“Why not?” Akashi asks, startled. 

Hotari hadn’t been awake the last time he had checked; the spare bedroom door was still closed and he hadn’t heard her moving around when he passed. Still, he glances behind him and doesn’t miss how Akashi’s face grows stony. “My sister. She’s in town and she’s here.” 

“So? Why can’t I come in?”

That seems like a simple question to answer to Midorima - bosses usually didn’t drop in on their employees on days off and on the weekend, especially not this early. Akashi usually travelled by his family’s car and Midorima could feel Masaomi almost breathing down his neck. Were visitations like these the reason he had been discovered? Akashi had said his father rarely bothered asking about his private affairs. “You just can’t.”

Akashi is holding a copy of Midorima’s door key in his hand on the ring of keys he has. He could have let himself in, but he knocked to be safe. “Does she not know about me? Or do you have someone else here entirely?”

“I’m not cheating on you, she’s really here. And - she knows an Omega’s been here. She found one of your inhibitor medication’s packaging in my bathroom. So even if she finds out we’re dating, she’s going to think I’m cheating on you or worse: she’ll find out you’re an Omega.”

Akashi is silent for a moment. “Then when I can see you next?”

Akashi had come because he had wanted to see him. “I want to say tomorrow, but...I’ll try and have her go home after today. I’ll call you.” He opens the door a little wider so he can kiss Akashi, which is effective. Though nonplussed, Akashi accepts this and leaves. Midorima goes back to making coffee and keeping his ears perked to the sound of Hotari stirring. 

She finally leaves her room as he’s setting the table for breakfast. At the very least, he can make basic breakfast foods. “You didn’t need to be shy,” she said, yawning. “You could have let your bae in this morning. I don’t mind having to share you.”

“You heard that?”

“You weren’t exactly being quiet.” The spare bedroom was on the other side of the apartment; even if she had heard the exchange, she couldn’t have picked up whole sentences. The conversation had been long enough to indicate it wasn’t a stranger and the fact that Midorima had turned them away was enough evidence. He was still safe. 

“I didn’t think it would be appropriate. I didn’t know you were awake.” She doesn’t buy his flimsy excuse but she doesn’t press any further. Midorima thinks Hotari must have matured since they last talked; he expected her to tease and harass him until he gave in, but she eats her food without so much as a guarded look waiting for him to drop his guard. 

Hotari starts talking about marriage again while they’re looking through an expensive boutique. She runs her hands down a smooth stole and says, “Mama was asking me if I knew any eligible singles that I could recommend to you. But I hardly thought that anyone I knew would be up your alley.”

“What’s my alley?”

“Oh, you know. The sophisticated, cultured type who likes to show off their extensive vocabulary and vast array of skills. You know who she recommended?” She looks up at him and breaks out in a grin that struggles to contain itself. “You know that designer who I had to work with for a collaboration? The one who I said was full of himself and policed his models so they did things the way he wanted them done?”

Midorima remembers him. He had a surly look perpetually on his face and a sneer when he said things like the only one who can produce runway looks of both beauty and class is me. “That’s horrifying,” he says. 

“You’ve been away from home for too long.” 

After dinner, Midorima walks his sister to her car, but is lost when she does not get in and drive home. “Are you planning on staying for another day?”

Hotari’s eyebrows are perfectly drawn in and arch artistically. “I’m not going home until I see who I should report back to Mama about. I’m not that mature that I’ll be satisfied by taking your word for it.” 

He sighs. “And here I thought you had grown up.”

“It’s so simple. Just introduce us and that’s that. I can get it’s a sensitive matter, but who could this person be if I can’t even lay eyes on them?” She opens the trunk of her car and pulls out an overnight bag. “I’ve got my assistant on call. I’ll wait.”

He sighs again. Later, his message to Akashi goes unanswered. 

 

 

To say Akashi is upset would be a gross understatement. Although he speaks to Midorima and comments about the report, he clips his words and looks right through him for the whole time. Akashi is poised, but his displeasure is palpable; even Takao is subdued and Akashi’s brother finds his way onto the floor, leering the whole way. 

“Oh nothing,” Seijuro says when someone on the floor asks if he needs something from the department. “I just wanted to see how my brother was doing, that’s all.” 

Midorima is juggling his work for the day and his apparently crumbling personal life when at the worst possible moment, as Akashi is coming into his office to ask for clarity on a memo with his brother trailing behind him gleefully - Hotari shows up. “Oh,” she says, as she surveys her brother’s horrified look and matching twin expressions of bewilderment. “Did I come at a bad time?”

Seijuro gapes at her and Midorima remembers he’s a serial Alpha hunter; Hotari looks positively regal in a forest green coat with a dark berry lip. “Hotari,” Midorima says, amazed his voice isn’t cracked from despair. “What are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to pay my brother a visit at work. I still have no idea what you do all day, and I didn’t want to stay cooped up at your place all day.” She gazes back and forth between the twins. “Wow, you two really are identical. I’m his younger sister, Midorima Hotari. I hope you keep taking care of my brother here.” 

Akashi still is speechless, although Seijuro wastes no time. “It’s a shame you came all the way here just to watch office proceedings for a whole day. Your brother has never mentioned you before; do you live in Tokyo?”

“He hasn’t, has he?” Hotari lays eyes on Midorima. It isn’t that he’s holding back on speaking about his sister, but at the very most, he had no intention of making Seijuro of all people aware of her. “Well, I suppose that’s just as normal, as he has yet to show me who he’s rejecting our mother’s chosen spouse for.”

“She was planning an arranged marriage?” Midorima practically squawks. Akashi glances at him, and although his face is still composed, his hands are tense and Midorima can see the alarm in his eyes. 

Seijuro, predictably, latches on to the other part of her sentence. “Who he’s dating? That’s no real secret, it’s-”

“The seventh floor certainly is lively today, isn’t it?” Masaomi booms, graciously appearing before Midorima can shout to interject and even Akashi has shifted his weight toward his brother. Four Alphas in one room is making Midorima’s hair stand on end; his sister’s grip on her clutch is tighter but she doesn’t flinch when Masaomi narrows in on her and strides into the office to greet her. “Ah, I don’t believe I’ve seen you here before.”

“Midorima Hotari,” she says, bowing her head but not deep enough to indicate any genuine display of respect. “I’m Shintarou’s younger sister.”

He meets her nod of acknowledgement. “Akashi Masaomi.” He considers her for a long moment, not unlike the fixated gaze Seijuro’s fixed on her since he’s entered the office. “You look awfully familiar. Ah - before my sons chastise me for being impertinent, you wouldn’t happen to be the Hotari that’s been part of the Spring Verte lineup, are you?”

“Verte was founded by my father,” Hotari says. “Our father,” she corrects, remembering Shintarou. “But yes, I’ve been given a line for this season to spearhead, so I’ve been busy as of late.”

The gears in Masaomi’s head are turning. “Give my regards to your father; I must admit, Verte always releases very impressive looks. What I have seen from you has been equally eye-catching.”

“Thank you.” Masaomi looks at Akashi now, and Midorima already knows what he’s about to say before he says it.

“My son here - Seijuro, you are partial to the Verte watch I gave you, aren’t you?” 

It’s no small feat that, with the same name with different kanji, the twins aren’t more easily mistaken. Akashi looks at Hotari and says, “I suppose I am. I admit I’m interested in replacing my current wallet with something in your collection, as it’s reaching the end of its life.” Midorima is tempted to remind them all that they all have jobs to do and he has a list of deliverables he needs to get to, but he finds his mouth regretfully sutured shut. 

“Perhaps you and he ought to speak; it would be no issue to reach any sort of partnership or sponsorship for the family of a friend.” Midorima can read in between the lines; Masaomi means to make Hotari a marriage candidate for Akashi. He knows Seijuro must see this too, because he immediately speaks up.

“I can take care of that, Father,” he says. “Brother is busy, otherwise he wouldn’t be meeting here with Midorima would he?” The look he gives Midorima is scathing. Midorima wants to go home. He didn’t ask for any of this. 

Masaomi is put off, but he doesn’t let it show. “Only if you have time,” he says, in lieu of rejecting Seijuro’s idea. “I’m sure between the two of them, we can figure out a slot that meets in both of your best interests…”

“Hey!” Midorima feels a headache coming on; his office hasn’t seen this many bodies in it since - well, ever, really. Takao bustles in holding a plastic tray with styrofoam cups of breakroom coffee. “So I figured there must be this major meeting going on here and everyone works better when they’re being nourished! So I brought some coffee!” 

Masaomi catches a whiff of instant coffee and gains a stiff upper lip. “I really ought to be going,” he says when Takao places the tray down and begins trying to distribute the coffee. “Midorima, we will speak soon. Ms. Hotari, if you have the time, my son is your rapt audience. Seijuro, you should return to the fifth floor.” 

Seijuro openly rejects Takao’s peace offering. “I hope to speak to you soon,” he tells Hotari. Midorima is impressed that he isn’t actually openly leering at her, thought he supposes that he was victim to Seijuro’s treatment since it was personal considering Akashi. Takao puts a cup of coffee on Midorima’s desk without asking and Akashi accepts his cup, although he doesn’t drink from it. 

“And last but not least - and definitely because I wanted to make sure it wasn’t too hot to burn your tongue - for the lady.” Hotari has a refined tongue for coffee, so Midorima holds his jaw closed when she takes it and smiles. Of course, she isn’t above being grateful when Takao essentially diffuses a situation where she might have had to spend extended time with Masaomi and Seijuro. 

But then she says, “Your thoughtfulness is appreciated. I have to say I’m a little confused over how big this building is; you wouldn’t happen to have a little time to show me around, do you?”

Midorima might not be the bigger man as often as he likes to think he is, but he’s been the victim of the whole ordeal at the end of the day. “Take it easy on him, Hotari,” he says. “You know you have a tendency to be a little heavy-handed with your Betas.” That itself might have been heavy-handed, because she opens her mouth to fire a quick retort.

But Takao says, “It’s no big deal. I’m used to handling little sisters, since I have one too. She’s not an Alpha though, so maybe it’s different!” Midorima doesn’t miss the playful way Takao extends an arm and the way Hotari plays along and tucks her wrist around his elbow. They’re a dangerous duo together and Midorima wishes he hadn’t condemned himself to her with his last comment. 

“What did I just watch?” Akashi asks him when Hotari and Takao leave. His displeasure at Midorima seems to have completely evaporated; he almost looks fond as he puts his cup of coffee down next to Midorima’s. “What’s this about you getting married and your sister visiting?”

“It’s a long story.” 

“Long enough to tell over dinner?” Akashi asks this softly, because the door to the office is still open so he can’t proposition too loudly or others will hear. Midorima really isn’t the bigger man at all, because, instead of suggesting that Akashi meet with Hotari instead of accepting this as an explanation as to why Midorima has been distant lately, he accepts. 

 

 

Hotari comes home at midnight, almost immediately after Midorima, but since either of them mentioning the other’s late return would ultimately lead to the other needing to reveal why they themselves were late, they let it slide and pretend not to have noticed. Then he walks into the cafe two blocks from the office to get some lunch and finds her hunched over a table and a notebook with Takao of all people. “Excuse me, what is going on here?” he asks, striding over after holding a number for his order and a cup of tea. 

“You’re right, it has to be someone from the office,” Takao is saying, as if he hadn’t heard Midorima interrupt. “Given your list of traits that he looks for in a partner, it seems unlikely he would find such a person without much effort and he spends the maximum amount of time in the office so I find it hard to believe he would date someone from the outside.”

“My brother is very involved in the things he puts his mind to,” Hotari says. “I’d say he’s practically married to his job, by how you put it. So it would be the best of both worlds if he has a relationship with someone he is constantly in close proximity with. He doesn’t open up very easily, if you haven’t noticed.”

“I have! He’s such a stickler and such a by-the-book kind of guy, he can definitely be hard to work with.”

“What is going on here?” Midorima asks again, louder. 

They finally look up at him. He doesn’t miss the way that, as they’re sitting at one of the cafe’s tiny tables to consolidate notes, her knee is pressed up against Takao’s knee and Takao’s other knee is bouncing in the erratic way Midorima recognizes as nervous energy that manifests itself usually during deadlines. She notices that he notices, because her eyes narrow somewhat and she shifts in her seat so she draws her shawl closer around herself. “You won’t tell me who you’re seeing, so I’ve enlisted Takao’s help in trying to figure it out.”

“I want to know too! I need water cooler gossip,” Takao grins. He gestures at the notebook between them; most of the page is his scrawl, a shorthand list of words like elegant and sophisticated and diligent. “Your sister has been great at sharing what your type is based on you as a person since she’s seen more parts of you than I have, and I’m telling her about your habits and daily routines. So far, we’ve decided you’re having an illicit office affair.”

“And who have you decided is the person with whom I’m having this apparent affair with?”

“That’s the thing! I’ve been thinking about how you interact with everyone and I’m not getting a definite read on anyone...you treat everyone about the same and you’ve never been seen leaving with anyone in particular.” Takao scans over his notes again. “According to what we’ve come up with, it’s got to be someone who shares your sense of order and refinery who appeals to your conventional tastes and who can offer an intellectual and emotional challenge. But honestly, the only person who fits that bill in the company is Akashi Seijuro - the less crazy one - and he’s an Alpha!”

“And who is to say my hypothetical partner isn’t an Alpha?”

Takao turns to Hotari, suddenly unsure. “You said he’s dating an Omega...right?”

“You know,” Hotari says, “Akashi Seijuro - the crazy one, I guess - seemed to know whom you were seeing, Brother…”

A wait staff comes up to Midorima holding his lunch order. Begrudgingly, he seats himself at an adjacent empty table and plans to eat his food as quickly as humanly possible. “I know you want to dig into my personal affairs, but I know even you won’t compromise yourself by seeking him out just to interrogate him.” 

Hotari makes a face. “He caught me in the lobby when I visited and he suggested I follow him to have dinner and...do things with him that I won’t repeat.”

“That’s harassment,” Takao insists, his eyes flaring. “He thinks he can get away with it because you don’t work there. We’ll figure something out. We don’t need his help when Midorima’s an open book.” He makes a gesture that looks suspiciously like he means to grab her hand but thinks twice about it at the last minute because Midorima is there. Likewise, she looks at him like she wants to match his enthusiasm but won’t. The whole performance almost makes Midorima laugh. 

“It wouldn’t hurt to talk to the other Akashi brother, would it?” Hotari muses. “Even if he doesn’t know the exact person, he is my brother’s boss, so he should have some kind of insight.” 

“Yeah, I guess it wouldn’t! But you should be careful that you aren’t so charmed by him that you forget what you’re there to ask him about.” 

“Don’t worry; he isn’t my type at all.” Midorima chokes here, half at the incredulation that Hotari is making concessions for Takao and half because he is definitely eating too fast and a few grains of rice have gone down the wrong pipe. She glares at him. “Oh, it’s getting late. I have a few conference calls I need to jump on; lunch was fantastic, but I have to run.”

“Yeah,” Takao says, grinning dizzily as she gets up and reaches into her clutch. “Oh, no, it’s on me, really, you’re in a rush, you should get on your calls-” He hurries her, though it isn’t until her phone finally rings that she relents and strides quickly out of the cafe, her tone taking on the brisk business quality Midorima knows. When she is gone, Takao - and Midorima almost chokes again - lets out a dreamy sigh.

“She’s my sister,” Midorima says after wiping his mouth to save face. “Remember that.”

“I wish I could forget,” Takao says. “Or else I might have let her take my hand in marriage right then and there.” 

“You barely know her.” 

“I don’t need to be like an Alpha to an Omega to feel a magnetic draw. But I guess it’s normal for someone without a single romantic bone in their body - it’s electric, I want to know what she’s thinking and I want to know what makes her happy and what she’s looking for and how I can get it for her.” He crosses his arms and tosses his head in mock snootiness. “Not that you would know what that’s like.”

During the dinner when Midorima tells him about how his mother has sent his sister on a wife-finding mission, Akashi is concerned with the prospect of losing him but he is also more vocally opposed to the idea that Midorima would be forced into an arrangement with someone he doesn’t really love and expected to at least give it a chance if not spend the rest of his life with his hypothetical spouse. In comparison, Midorima is willing to help Masaomi find Akashi a partner to a certain extent because he knows how much Akashi values his family and how immense the responsibility of a young heir is. He wonders how much he really has Akashi’s best interests at heart if he is also concerned about Masaomi burying him alive for having a relationship with his son. “I guess you’re right,” he agrees, chewing slower now and wondering the kinds of Alphas Masaomi would be able to gather. Takao stops putting on airs and just watches him.

“What kind of person is this that has really changed you like this?” he asks, not expecting an answer. “I almost don’t want to know anymore to spoil the secret!”

Midorima chews Takao out the entire way back to the office, as reward for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but Akashi meets them in the lobby and cuts his latest monologue short. Takao quickly slips past and rushes for the elevators. “My father is looking for you,” Akashi says. “I don’t know what you did, but I’ve been asked to bring you to him.”

Midorima feels his chest sink. “I see. Lead the way, then.” 

As they pass the receptionist on the top floor and Akashi brings Midorima down the hallway to his father’s office, he slows his stride so they’re shoulder to shoulder and says, “You left early yesterday, didn’t you? After dinner.” Midorima sets his mouth in a line. He brought Akashi back home, kept his hands to himself, and went back to his own home afterward. “Tonight, I was thinking - I met with a client who recently came back from France, and she brought back a bottle of wine as a gesture of goodwill.” 

He’s avoided the invitations for so long that Midorima thinks he has to accept or else it would start to look suspicious. And if he is honest, it isn’t that he doesn’t want to spend the night with Akashi, after marking him at the beginning of his heat and not doing a damn thing after. Akashi’s eyes had burned into him, murky and alluring when Midorima gave a weak excuse for why he had to leave yesterday. People got into affairs all the time, he thought. It happened on television. Viewers ate that kind of thing up. A tryst would definitely not be as beautifully staged as they were on Dissent, but Midorima’s fingers twitch at the thought. “Alright. Eight?”

Akashi was a seasoned businessman but in the privacy of the hallway, he looked to be the cat that had caught the canary. “I’ll be expecting you,” he says, from deep in his throat. When he opens the door to his father’s office, the triumphant look has been quickly reworked into one of modest professionalism, although it falters when he sees who is sitting in one of the chairs in front of his father’s desk. 

“Hotari,” Midorima says. “What are you doing here?”

“Ah, Midorima Shintarou,” Masaomi says, clapping his hands together. “That is all, Seijuro. You may leave us.”

Akashi glances at Midorima but shuts the door behind him. Hotari is also looking at him with an amused expression as he approaches the desk and takes the seat offered to him. “I was just having a chat with your sister. She called me this afternoon to discuss the possibility of a sponsorship or at least friendly business relations. She was very interested in talking with my son about such things.”

“I think it would be very beneficial to Verte,” Hotari explains. 

“You may be wondering why I’ve called you here,” Masaomi says. “Since, of course, your sister’s business and your work is completely unrelated - and I wouldn’t want you to work on her as a client, as that wouldn’t be ethical. But I did want to speak about the topic I mentioned earlier.” Hotari’s smug expression steels somewhat. “As I’ve told you before, I mean to see my eldest son married in the near future.” 

The declaration is so out of left field to Hotari, who says, “I wasn’t aware that you had another son in addition to the twins.”

“Oh, you misunderstand me. Akashi Seijuro - the one who showed Shintarou here - is technically the elder twin, so I’ve referred to him as my eldest. Neither of them are spoken for. I don’t mean to push an engagement on you,” Masaomi says quickly as Hotari’s surprise paints itself across her face. “I only mean to add it as an item of conversation. I’m sure you and my son will reach a fruitful agreement in regards to Verte that is separate from that. I wanted to get your opinion as well, Shintarou.”

The whole scenario was falling apart. Midorima did not know what to be more mortified about: the fact that Masaomi was suggesting that he marry off his sister, the fact that the very idea had been proposed right in front of Hotari, or the fact that he had to be a part of the conversation which did not involve him in the slightest. “You see, Miss Hotari, I’ve consulted your brother about marriage candidates for my son, since they work so closely and he would know my son in different ways than I would. I understand it’s a very personal and delicate matter, but I believe in finding a perfect match.”

“I see,” Hotari says flatly. 

Masaomi seems to understand that he’s committed some kind of faux pas, as he adds, “Perhaps this was not the time nor place to mention it, but I just thought such a marriage seems compatible. You and my son would get along great.” 

Nothing Midorima can think of to say sounds right, but Hotari mercifully saves him from having to participate. “I...understand. These sort of things aren’t completely unusual in the industries we operate in.” She finally allows a smile. “Strategic partnerships are definitely worth thinking about. Your son does seem charming; I guess only time will tell if we’re the perfect match that you hope we are.”

Even Masaomi looks relieved at the turn of events. “Wonderful. My son should be free this evening; perhaps you two could speak about Verte tonight?” An order from Masaomi was absolute; he dials Akashi’s number as Midorima and Hotari see themselves out. 

“This is a lot to process,” Hotari says when they finally reach the elevator, which they ride alone. “I can’t believe I came here to talk about marriage with you and find myself with an offer of my own. Not to mention your boss just blew your own love life out of the water to me.” The third revelation is unspoken - Akashi Seijuro is an Omega. 

“It’s barely mid-week,” Midorima agrees. Hotari says nothing more on the subject and he allows her to conduct her work in his office with him. At six, Akashi appears at the door with his coat and genial smile aimed at Hotari.

“I’m glad we finally have a chance to talk,” he says, helping her put her coat and scarf. “My father was so eager, I can’t imagine what you’re about to propose to me.”

“That’s putting it lightly,” Hotari murmurs. 

When they leave, Takao comes into Midorima’s office a breath later. “Did I see what I thought I just saw? Is your sister going on an information collecting mission?”

Midorima does not bother pausing his work to answer. “Most likely. I wonder if she’ll come back with anything worthy to discuss with you, though.” Hotari might be partial to Takao, but he knows if he asks, she won’t say a word no matter what Takao might say. Still, Takao gazes where they once were so wistfully, Midorima feels like he has to throw him a bone. “I wouldn’t worry about it. He’s not her type, remember?”

“I wasn’t worried about that,” Takao insists. 

“Okay.” 

When Hotari comes back, Midorima is in the middle of running a load of laundry. “What did you two talk about?” he asks when it’s clear she’s not going to share and wants the satisfaction of ruffling his feathers. Instead of answering, she stretches her legs out on the couch and reclines like a righteous queen. 

“The elephant in the room, obviously. That his father wants me to marry him.” 

“I see. And his response?”

“He was very kind about it. He said he was in no place for marriage at the time and would probably not be able to give me what I was looking for. It was a very cordial conversation.” She is silent for a moment, before saying, “You’re well loved, brother.”

“Did he mention me?”

“Oh no; you never came up.” She rests the back of her head on the back of the couch. “But just the way he was speaking about things - I guess if I didn’t know any better, I’d thought he was talking about putting his job and responsibilities first with all his talk about having priorities and their personal importance. Oh - wait, I guess you did come up. He asked if you knew his father had put me up to the meeting and I told him you were being used as a consultant for possible marriage candidates.” 

Akashi was bound to have opinions about being left in the dark, but Midorima doesn’t receive any messages about it during the night and he spends the morning commute thinking of how to broach the subject delicately and is still deep in thought as he takes off his coat in the office that he almost doesn’t notice Akashi enter. “I need to borrow you,” Akashi says bluntly, taking him by the wrist. 

“What’s going on?” Midorima sees broken agreements and faulty data flash before his eyes, but Akashi is pulling him toward the elevator and hits the top floor and stands next to him in silence, his fingers still looped around Midorima’s wrist. When they reach their destination, Akashi barely spares a moment to speak to his father’s secretary and instead barrels them toward Akashi Masaomi’s office, which has its doors thrown open without decorum. 

“Father, it’s been brought to my attention that you’ve been planning on having me married off without letting me know,” Akashi announced. Midorima’s shoes skid on the rug underneath as Akashi keeps pulling him, Masaomi blinking in surprise before them. “As you can imagine, I’m upset about this, as this is a pretty major lifestyle change for me and you haven’t even mentioned that you were thinking about this for me, not to mention that you didn’t say anything before going ahead and acting on that thought before telling me.” 

“I only thought I would help sow the seeds; I had no intention of pushing you into a marriage that you didn’t want,” Masaomi says. 

“Thank you for your concern, Father, but I just don’t think I’m at a stage in my life where I’m ready to settle down and start thinking about having a family. But the other thing that’s made me upset is this - that you’ve asked the person that I would consider marrying, if I had to marry today, to look for other people for me to marry.” The anvil drops and Masaomi gapes in confusion. Akashi’s fingers tighten around Midorima’s wrist. 

“You mean-”

“Maybe it isn’t right, professionally, but I’m in a relationship with Shintarou, and it would be good for you to leave him out of your meddling into my personal life. That’s all I wanted to say.” It hasn’t missed Midorima’s notice that, lately, his life has been taking stereotypically soap opera turns; now he feels like the delinquent that has been taken home and is giving the mother and father a shock. Masaomi is looking at him now, though without the venom that Midorima had been steeling himself for. 

“You know,” Masaomi says, genuinely speechless. “You know then, that Seijuro is...is an-”

“It’s a fact that I’ve guarded with my life,” Midorima says quickly. 

“So you understand,” Akashi says, “that I won’t be agreeing to any discussion about the issue. It was also a difficult situation to put Shintarou into, asking his sister to consider me as a husband. She’s understanding of it, but I wouldn’t want to think about what she could say to her networks if she had been offended at the suggestion.” 

Midorima is used to seeing Masaomi as the epitome of an eternally calm, shrewd business leader, but the man in front of them is undoubtedly a father, awkwardly forced to face the reality that one of his sons is capable of pointing out his shortcomings. “I may have been too hasty,” he says finally. Akashi’s grip around Midorima’s wrist loosens, but remains there. “Midorima, hmm?” Masaomi assesses him with this new information. “I can’t say I’m entirely pleased, but I don’t have to remind you that I expect that you maintain your reliability and level-head outside the office.”

“Father,” Akashi groans. 

“While I don’t think it was right to withhold that information from me when I first discussed the matter with you, I see I put you in a complicated place.” The admission is as good as an apology; Midorima knows he won’t get a more explicit one from Masaomi for as long as he lives. “I value the work you do for my sons and for the company, but it seems inevitable now that I must know more about you. You simply must come over to the main house for dinner.” Masaomi’s eyes fall to where Akashi is still holding MIdorima. “You must understand; this was all done out of concern for my sons. Image matters, especially in our industry, and I had only wanted…”

“I understand,” Midorima says. “It would be an honor to visit the Akashi estate as your guest.” 

Midorima survives the stint in Masaomi’s office, but after they are dismissed, Akashi doesn’t let him return back to the safety of his personal office and pulls him instead into an empty conference room further down the hall. “That was the most nerve-wracking conversation I’ve had with my father in a really long time,” Akashi admits, resting his forehead on Midorima’s shoulder. Midorima puts a hand on Akashi’s back and rubs gently, feeling the tension ease out. His hand seizes when he feels Akashi’s lips against the pulse in his neck. 

“Hey,” Midorima says. “It’s...your father’s just down the hall. We’ve barely been in the office for longer than an hour.” 

“No one comes into these conference rooms,” Akashi murmurs around his skin. “We’ll be fine. Nothing that hasn’t been done before.” Midorima’s head spins with the possibility that Akashi might have had a tryst in the conference room, but he gets distracted by Akashi’s hand palming down the front of his pants. “I’ve been waiting for so long, you being a complete fool not telling me anything and trying to distance yourself so you could watch me get married to someone else…”

“I thought it was what was right. You have your position to consider; if it was what needed to happen, I would step aside gladly…”

Akashi’s eyes flash. “No one tells me what my trajectory is. If I don’t say anything about it, don’t think there’s some invisible force that I need to follow.” Midorima wants to say something about how the pheromones, now giving him a light-headed feeling as Akashi kisses him sweetly against the conference table, are invisible to the naked eye, but he knows he’s just being fastidious. 

Takao has no doubt noticed that Midorima’s things have been lying in his office for an hour and the man himself is just returning and fixing his hair, but the only thing he says when he comes in with the monthly report is, “So, how was your sister’s meeting with the young master last night?”

“They’re at the courthouse signing the marriage documents,” Midorima says. Takao clicks his tongue and Midorima can tell he’s bitten back a comment about being changed by some unknown significant other. 

“Good joke; it definitely wasn’t one you haven’t already thrown my way in the past few days.”

“She’s having a late morning,” Midorima says, flipping through the report. “Although now I’m sure she can no longer loiter around Tokyo freely; she’s neglected her work for a whole week now.” 

That gets Takao’s attention. “She isn’t from the Tokyo area?”

“Of course not. Verte’s offices need to be centralized but they aren’t in the middle of the city. Creative genius needs room to breathe.” Midorima takes off his glasses to polish them; there’s a smudge at the corner of the right lens that he recognizes as the tip of Akashi’s fingerprint, too impatient to take off his glasses to kiss him. “Or so says my father. But she’ll be expected back by this time.” 

“I see,” Takao says flatly. 

“I’m sure she’d love to hear from you,” Midorima says, without a trace of sarcasm. Takao looks like he is unfazed, but he begins to tap his foot with that nervous energy and takes Midorima’s unamused expression as his cue to leave. Midorima sees him head away from his desk to the staff break room, pulling his phone out. 

Later, Midorima gets a message on his own phone. It’s from Akashi, and it contains summons for dinner with his father at the end of the week but an invitation to his place in the evening. For once, in a long while, Midorima accepts without hesitation.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. I've had this in my WIP bin for too long and I just need to get it out. It's very cliche but I love happy endings.


End file.
